Several of my posts from a thread were deleted. But I'm not here to complain about that. The deletion has made me notice a flaw in the software.

A search function turns up the deleted posts, which it says are still in the forum thread. Clicking on the messages in the search list takes you into that thread, but the posts are not there. It appears to be positioning me at the place in the thread where the posts used to be. In fact, the posts are really in the recycle bin, but that is not reflected in the search results. This results in confusion because it leads you to believe the posts are still where you originally put them, but then they aren't actually there.

Something is awry...

I think the search results should indicate that they are in the recycle bin, instead of where they were originally placed. And then when you click on the message, it should tell you what it used to: "access to this section is restricted", or something like that. This is what used to happen in this situation - something has been changed, for the worse.

There is a new tool for the Mods and it seems you have found it. The posts you are referring to are not in the Recycle Bin, they are still in the thread but visible only to the Mods. We'll be able to track posts in a thread a little easier with this new application, it should prove to be quite useful.

This new tool is going to help us eliminate the issue of needing to remove one persons comments but leaving all the comments of the people that replied to the original post. Only mods in that forum will be able to see the original post , the hope is that we can avoid impacting more posts then the bare minimum if we need to make changes in the future.

This sounds like a good change, so that deletions don't cascade downward and create innocent victims.

However, there ought to be some kind of tag displayed, or something, so that this doesn't create confusion, like it did with me. You need some kind of place-holder indicating that there is a hidden message at that location.

When the new tool was in development, I opted for the most superficial hide we could get, so as to interfere with the flow of the thread the least possible. Looks like we need it to be a little less superficial, though. I'll pose the question to the developers and see what they come up with. Maybe there's an easy way to hide those posts from the search function, too.

Maybe there's an easy way to hide those posts from the search function, too.

I wouldn't care for that option.

From my viewpoint it goes like this: - I know I posted those messages. - But the messages no longer appear where I put them. - So what happened to them? - I'll do a search function to find them. - Oh, there they are! And I see that they've been deleted/hidden from public view. - Fine, at least I know their fate, and that they didn't just disappear by mistake somehow, or because of some computer glitch.

But if you hide them from the search function too, then I'll be left wondering what happened to them, with no explanation as to why they disappeared or where they went.

I also wonder if this capability to selectively remove single messages won't make the moderators more trigger-happy to remove things, instead of exercising more restraint in wielding that power.

Before I respond, please understand that I'm not in charge of the forums yet. We're just yakkin' here, right?

Over on rockclimbing.com, where I am in charge of the forums, we moderate a lot less than they do here. Now, some folks might think that's awesome, but quite frankly, our forums there are a lot less useful for climbers looking for climbing info than DZ's forums are here for jumpers looking for jumping info. The signal-to-noise ratio is far worse there.

I'm currently trying to change that, but the culture is so entrenched that I have to find ways of doing it that don't involve more aggressive moderating, lest I have a sitewide rebellion on my hands. If that site had been moderated like they do here all along, I wouldn't have the problems I currently have. So, while yeah, the mods here are more willing to moderate than they are on RC.com, I don' think that's necessarily a bad thing.

Anyway, the point is, DZ mods have always done what they feel they need to do to keep the forums focused and on track, and I kind of surprised them with this additional functionality -- they weren't looking for it. So, I don't think this will result in a net increase in moderating, just a net decrease in how intrusive that modding is.

Bare in mind, however, that on both sites, transparency is important. If you want to know what happened to a post, just drop a note in the PM box of the forum's moderator. I'm sure he or she will be happy to explain. Don't take this to mean I think things are perfect. We're all humans. We all make mistakes, but the forum rules outline recourses if anybody thinks a moderator went too far. And, like most of the rest of us, moderators respond far more favorably when users phrase objections in a non-accusatory, non-insulting manner, just like you've done here.

I'm going to pipe up in support of John's points. I occasionally get a post zapped. (God knows why? ) But the point is, under the old system, you'd know it; now, you just go crazy looking for a post you're certain you've posted, but can't find, wondering whether Alzheimer's is kicking in.

I'm going to pipe up in support of John's points. I occasionally get a post zapped. (God knows why? ) But the point is, under the old system, you'd know it; now, you just go crazy looking for a post you're certain you've posted, but can't find, wondering whether Alzheimer's is kicking in.

I'm bumping this because I'm sure it's happened again. I could swear I posted something a couple days ago, and now looking at the thread it's (apparently?) been deleted, but a search doesn't even show it in the recycle bin - like it would under the "old system". I really don't understand why we can't see that it's in the recycle bin so we understand that it's been deleted and don't just scratch our heads thinking WTF? I do think that letting people know their post has been deleted, rather than just "disappearing" it w/o a trace, is a reasonable courtesy.